


Mistakes of the Best Kind

by chibipooh



Series: Earth-28 [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Mild Blood, Mild Gun Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 11:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1602902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibipooh/pseuds/chibipooh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tam Fox walked home to her apartment that evening, it was with the belief that the day could not get any worse. This was her first mistake. She would go on to make a total of three mistakes that night, each one bigger than the last, but the naive belief that things could not get worse in Gotham of all cities was probably the worst one of all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistakes of the Best Kind

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I’ve been wanting to write for a really, really long time and now I’ve finally done it. Hopefully this little snippet will get some more people interested in one of my favorite pairings!

     When Tam Fox walked home to her apartment that evening, it was with the belief that the day could not get any worse. This was her first mistake. She would go on to make a total of three mistakes that night, each one bigger than the last, but the naive belief that things could not get worse in Gotham of all cities was probably the worst one of all.

     Though she hadn’t been born there, Tam had grown up in Gotham and knew more than most just what kind of surprises lay in its twisting alleyways and narrow streets. Yet as she walked home that night, Tam wasn’t even aware of just how big a mistake she was making.

     To be fair, it had been an unusually rough day. One of her partners had saved their  project to the wrong format, forcing Tam to stay up until 5 am to reformat the entire file only to find out that the professor did not accept work after midnight. Then her sleep deprived night had led to bouts of dozing off and on at her internship, which had caused her to miss a phone call from a huge Albanian partner. Not only had her supervisor yelled at her for an hour about it, he’d sent a message to her dad. Her dad!

     So Tam wasn’t really in the most alert state of mind as she rounded the last corner back to her street. As far as she was concerned, the day was over and done with, never to be recalled again. Failure stung worse than any bee sting or sharp knife.

     Tam sighed in relief as the friendly lights of her apartment building finally came into view. She could practically hear the hot shower, leftover bowl of pasta, and big queue of Netflix shows screaming her name. Wallowing in self-pity usually wasn’t her style, but she felt she deserved to indulge herself. Just this once wouldn’t hurt.

     As she headed home, musing over whether to catch up on Bob’s Burgers or Breaking Bad first, Tam heard a noise coming from an alleyway. Surprised, she stopped.

     This was her second mistake.

     In Gotham, mysterious alleyways were almost always bad news. Mysterious alleyways with strange sounds emitting from them were even worse. If you were lucky it would only turn out to be some belligerent drunk complaining loudly about their hatred of the world. And if you weren’t… Tam could still remember the warnings her parents had given her every night, the numbers for the police and the fire department the school teachers had drilled into all the students’ heads, even the little nursery rhyme they’d been taught about safety: ‘ _Don’t go outside at the end of day/For that’s when The Joker comes out to play/If night should fall and you’re trapped outside/Better run fast, run fast and hide.’_ (She’d had always thought it was a little morbid for a kindergarten rhyme.)

     It came again, a low groan almost too quiet to hear. The sound was too polished to be a dog, too deep for a cat. Whatever it was, it was human. Someone was back there and they were clearly in a great deal of pain.

     Tam drew closer to the entrance of the alley, then paused. She wasn’t the kind of person who hung around alleys by nature, having always preferred the safety of a well lit street where the possibility of getting stabbed to death was slightly less high. Still, she couldn’t deny what she’d just heard. And if someone was hurt back there, they were going to need medical attention soon. As she hesitate, a thought came to her mind: What Would Tim Do?

     She headed down into the dark.

     It was dark as alleys tend to be. For the first few moments she wandered aimlessly, one hand against a grimy brick wall to steady herself. By the time she remembered the flashlight app on her phone, her eyes had already adjusted to the near-pitch blackness of the space. She looked around anxiously, taking in with mild disgust the moldy cardboard boxes and bags of trash with mysterious liquids oozing from them.

     “Hello?” she called out, “Is anybody back here?” Her voice floated through the empty air, bouncing off the walls. The only sound that came in return was the scurry of a rat as it ran past her feet. Tam shivered.

     Clearly, she’d been hearing things. Yeah. Of course. That was it. The stress from her upcoming exam, presentation, 12 page paper, and the overall shittiness of the day had finally gotten to her and now she was imagining strange groans in abandoned streets after midnight. Tam laughed to herself, a dry chuckle completely devoid of mirth, and turned to leave.

     That’s when she stumbled over Red Hood.

     Tam barely managed to catch herself, stumbling forward awkwardly instead of landing face first in the crud. Despite her disturbance, the body beneath her didn’t even shift. Tam stared at it for a moment, eyes wide. Then it hit her- she had just fallen on top of Red Hood. Jumping back as if struck by a bolt of lightning, Tam flattened herself against the wall, breath caught in her throat.

     “Oh my God.”

     It was him, it was definitely him- the huge helmet was pretty hard to mistake. Red Hood was laying in the alley by her house, and he looked horrible. His shirt was torn to shreds, revealing a large gash that went from his shoulder down his torso, surrounded on both sides by purpling bruises. His left arm lay twisted in a way the couldn’t possibly be natural. Even the signature helmet was in bad shape with a huge dent to its forehead. Tam’s heart skipped a beat. Was he…dead?

     His chest rose slightly and Tam let go a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. It wasn’t much, but at least she wasn’t dealing with a corpse. As Tam’s own heart rate returned to normal, she recalled a conversation she’d had with Tim just weeks earlier.

     _“Okay, so this part is patrolled by you,” Tam asked, pointing to a cheap plastic map of Gotham as Timothy-Alvin-Draper-Drake-Wayne nodded along, “and this part is mostly done by Batgirl and Nightwing.”_

_“Right again.”_

_“But then that leaves a huge chunk open right here, between 46th street and the docks. Who does that part? The police?” Tim’s whole body stiffened at what Tam had thought was a fairly innocent question._

_“That part,” Tim said solemnly, voice unusually terse, “belongs to Red Hood.” Tam looked down to the map then back up at Tim._

_“So Red Hood’s one of you then? One of the good guys?” She noted the way Tim’s mouth became a thin line when she said that name. In the months since their break up, her and Tim had been treading lightly, always staying on neutral topics, never venturing into anything that make the other too uncomfortable. This subtle disapproval was the most emotion Tam had seen from the boy in weeks, and it fascinated her. She couldn’t believe how much power one name had over him._

_“In a manner of speaking,” Tim finally replied after what felt like an eternity. “But you don’t have to worry about with him. You’re probably never going to run into the guy, unless you find yourself on his hit list.” Tam had remembered laughing and asking, “So what does a girl need to do to get herself on his ‘hit list?’” but any humor in the situation had drained when she saw the look in his eyes._

_“Stay away from Red Hood, Tam.”_

     So much for that piece of advice.

     As the shock of the encounter faded away, the realization she needed to do something took its place. But what? It wasn’t like she could just call an ambulance and have him taken to the hospital. That was definitely not an option. But how was she supposed to give him medical aid when she could barely see five inches in front of her face. Besides, every second they spent there on the ground was another second they risked getting discovered by any of the numerous creepy crawlies that slithered through the Gotham night. No, staying wasn’t an option either.

     First things first though, something had to be done about all that blood. She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a handkerchief- small and ineffectual for the scope of what needed to be done, but it would have to do. Awkwardly and more than a little self consciously, Tam began dabbing away at the blood on his chest. It surprised her that with all the noise she’d been making that he still hadn’t woken up. Maybe he was more injured that she’d thought. The progress was slow, but soon Tam could almost make out the very defined, very muscled chest that lay underneath the pool of blood. She gulped. There would be time to think about that later; right now she needed to focus.

     When she was satisfied she had done all she really could do for his cut at the moment, Tam turned her attention toward his head. With a dent that big, he probably had a minor concussion. She knew a thing or two about concussions thanks to her younger brother Luke’s many years of boxing and she also knew that the helmet needed to be taken off at once. Tam touched the metal. The red metal was surprisingly cool to the touch, odd since it was such a warm night, and she shivered again despite herself. At the side of the helmet near where his ear should be there seemed to be some sort of switch. Tam reached for it tentatively.

     “Flip that switch and I’m taking this whole place out, you with me.”

     It happened in a blur. Tam felt the gun before she saw it, barrel pressed against the soft skin of her throat. She fell backwards, her arm scraping open against the pavement. Red Hood held her by the front of her shirt with one hand, the other hand holding the gun to her neck, and she couldn’t even bring herself to scream. In the pale light of the evening, Tam could just see herself reflected in the lenses of his eye screens, small and scared and totally unprepared for whatever was to come next.

     “Now, tell me who the hell you are and where the hell I am and things won’t have to get ugly,” he growled. As terrified as she was, Tam couldn’t help noticing the way his hand shook, almost too slightly to be noticed. She scrambled to find something to say that wouldn’t get her shot to death.

     “I’m-I’m, um-Red Robin! I mean, I’m Tim- Tam! I’m Tam Fox and I’m a friend of Tim’s!” she choked out. Red Hood didn’t pull the gun away completely, but the pressure on her throat decreased.

     “And where is Red Robin?”

     “He’s not here! Nowhere near here! We’re the only ones here.”

     For the first time since waking up, he took his gaze away from her to look around. Upon realizing that she was right, they were truly alone with no one in sight, he finally let her go and pulled the gun away, though it still pointed in her direction. Tam gasped, her hand flying to her throat.

     “Here’s how it’s going to go,” announced the drug lord as Tam rubbed her neck anxiously. “You’re going to walk away like a good little girl and not tell a single person about our little rendezvous tonight and I’m not going to shoot your pretty little head full of holes. Do you hear me?”

     Tam nodded, still too shocked to say anything. The man regarded her for a moment. Then, gun still trained to her, he turned to walk away. It wasn’t even a second later he stumbled, falling to his knees. With a speed that surprised even her, Tam was at his side, extending a hand out.

     “Are you alr-”

     “DON’T TOUCH ME!”

     Tam recoiled, as if she’d been slapped. She was still scared, no doubt about it, but it was hard to be truly frightened when the man threatening you could hardly even walk. Red Hood coughed and she swore she saw a few drops of blood hitting the pavement.

     “You need help,” Tam said, voice more confident than she felt.

     “I need you to stop talking.”

     “Just- wait a minute. I can call Ti- Red Robin and he can get you some, I don’t know, he can help you. Really help you.”

     “What makes you think I want his damn help?” Ignoring her extended hand, the man dragged himself to the wall, which he crumpled against like an unpitched tent. With great difficulty, he pulled himself into sitting position. Tam regarded him for a few moments, then took another step forward.

     “Let me- Let me help you.” Red Hood lifted his head and looked at her. He said nothing. “Let me help you,” Tam repeated again. He laughed, bitter and empty.

     “What could you possibly do for me?” he asked. There was a sadness in his voice, something distant and raw and untouched. It was the same tone Tim slipped into when he thought people weren’t listening.

     “I have a first aid kit back at my place. You just- wait here, alright? I’ll be right back.” Every fiber of her being was screaming “RUN LIKE HELL WHAT ARE YOU DOING,” but Tam ignored it. You’d think this would have been her third mistake. You’d be wrong. Without waiting for his reply, Tam turned on her heel and bolted out of the alley. The lights of the street seemed mercilessly bright after all the time she’d spent in the dark. It occurred to her that she might have blood on her. She ran faster.

     Tam made it through her apartment building without being spotted, even taking the stairs in order to avoid the cameras that watched over the elevator. The whole way up to her 8th floor apartment, all she could think of was how the hell she keeped managing to get herself in these kinds of situations. Incidents like being threatened at gunpoint were the whole reason she’d broken up with Tim (that and him, you know, faking her father’s death and lying to her about it) and she’d hoped that with the break up she would be able to put all the nonsense behind her. Yet here she was running up eight flights of stairs to get a first aid kit for one of the most wanted men in the entire nation, if not the world. It would have almost been laughable had it been happening to anyone else but her.

     Her roommate often spent the night at her new girlfriend’s so Tam came home to a mercifully empty apartment. As she searched frantically through the cabinets in the bathroom, a thought struck her: did Red Hood actually know that Tim Drake was Red Robin? Tim had never told her what the rogue vigilante’s civilian persona actually was. And though Tim hadn’t said they were enemies, he hadn’t exactly acted as if they were best friends either. What if she had just given his identity away to one of the most dangerous men in Gotham? The thought made Tam sick to her stomach and she froze, hand wrapped around the plastic handle of the first aid kit.

     The smart thing to do would be to call the cops, let them sort this whole thing out. But the cops of Gotham were asinine at best, completely and 100% incompetent at worst. Tam had no doubt they’d screw it up. Calling Tim would be the next logical choice. Tam actually fished the phone out of her pocket and had her finger hovering over Tim’s contact profile when she paused. Somehow, calling Tim didn’t seem like the right choice either. It wasn’t his anger she feared (plus he had kind of lost the right to be mad with her about anything after the last stunt he’d pulled), but the idea of the two men being within 5 feet of each other didn’t quite sit well with her.

     Okay, okay, here’s what she’d do. She’d go downstairs, avoid the receptionist one more time, give Mr. Red Hood his box of undersized bandages and ibuprofen, then run like hell and pretend this night had never happened. Tam groaned. Damn her and her inability to not worry  about people.

     Making it past the receptionist was even easier the second time. So engrossed was the teen in his post folk punk metal whatever band that he barely even noticed Tam slipping out the front door, huge white medical kit slung awkwardly under one arm. This time, Tam didn’t even hesitate before plunging into the alleyway, nearly kicking a rat in her haste. She wasn’t excited, she told herself, just wanted to get there faster so she could get back to her pasta and Netflix. Yeah, Netflix. That was it.

     But to Tam’s disappointment, the alleyway she returned to was completely empty. Even the pool of blood from earlier was gone. Tam swung her phone flashlight this way and that, but any trace of the man and their altercation earlier had vanished into the night. Tam couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t have been gone for more than 10 minutes yet everything was gone. It was as if it had never happened at all. She closed her eyes, and breathed a sigh, one part relief and one part some other emotion she couldn’t quite place. That was it she guessed. All there was left to do now was go home, get something to eat, and see how much bleach it would take to wash the stains out of her blouse. Then she could worry about any danger she may or may not have put Tim in with her little slip up. There was no point wondering where Red Hood had come from and where he could have possibly gone. That could wait till the morning.

     As Tam headed home, she told herself to stop thinking about the man with the red helmet and unbelievably sad voice. Try as she might, she couldn’t.

     This was her third mistake.

*~*~*

     Jason groaned as he dragged himself into the bed of his 3rd least favorite safehouse, not even bothering to take off his clunky leather boots. He tried to keep his use of this particular safehouse to a minimum as it was uncomfortably close to one of the better staffed police stations, but he hadn’t really had a choice in where to spend the night unless he wanted to risk passing out in the middle of the street again.

     Ugh, again. Jason was reckless, but what had happened tonight had strayed from plain reckless into a complete disregard for his own safety. Even an amateur sidekick on their first night of patrol wouldn’t have gotten themselves mugged so easily. Jason frowned into his pillow, turning to his side.

     And the girl who had found him. Tam Fox, was it? The name sounded familiar. Wasn’t Fox the name of the man who kept Bruce’s company running and his secret away from the eyes and ears of the nosy public? She was probably related to him then, most likely a spoiled daughter mooching off Daddy’s money to get through life. But spoiled or not, she had known Red Robin’s identity, which meant there was a strong chance she also knew his. Jason turned again, rubbing uselessly at his sore temples.

     It felt like something was pounding against the inside of his skull with a sledgehammer. Jason couldn’t remember if you were supposed to sleep constantly when you had a concussion or stay awake at all costs. He had a nagging feeling that it was probably the latter, but he only had the energy for the former so he chose to do that instead. Besides, what was the worst that could happen, he died? He gave a small laugh, then winced. It was too soon to be laughing at unfunny jokes.

     As Jason rolled over once more, he thought again about the woman who had offered her hand to him that night. In the morning, when the sun was bright and the birds were chirping and his head didn’t feel like it was about to split in two, he’d do a little digging to learn some more about this Tam Fox and to make sure he hadn’t made a mistake by not silencing her when he’d had the chance. He rolled over one last time.

     All that could wait till the morning. For the time being, all Jason did was sleep.


End file.
